


The emotional traumas of taking care of your sick brother for the first time

by seamistress89



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Baby Sam Winchester, F/M, Gen, John showing what a shitty parent he is, John's a piece of shit, One Shot, Protective Bobby Singer, Scared Dean, Short One Shot, Sick Baby Sam, Sick Character, Sick Sam Winchester, five year old Dean, one year old Sam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-20
Updated: 2015-10-20
Packaged: 2018-04-27 06:03:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5036638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seamistress89/pseuds/seamistress89
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Or in other words, the first time Dean’s had to care for a sick young Sammy while their Dad is out.<br/>There will only be mentions of John x Mary and possible mentions of Bobby x Karen. There will be no other pairings. Seriously… The brothers are just kids in this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The emotional traumas of taking care of your sick brother for the first time

**Author's Note:**

> Sea: So… Random shit that pops in my head while talking to Roddy… Yeah. Here we go.  
> Enjoy, and shit…  
> Gods, I need to stabilize my sleeping pattern again.

The day started out normal enough. Dad woke him up at 8 am. He’d tell Dean to watch over Sammy, and Dad would be back later that day. Dad never specified when he’d be home that day, but for the past eight months, this has been his routine. There was one month before all of this started that they would stay at Uncle Bobby’s, but that… that was a long time ago.

 

The five year old has long since grown used to his current routine. Dad would leave to go somewhere – he said he was going out hunting when Dean asked once, and told Dean to not question any further. Like a good little boy, Dean obeyed. Dean would wait for the inevitable cry or whimper that would signal Sam was waking up and needed food or a fresh diaper. He would help Sammy and watch over him all day, like he was told to, and wait for their Dad to come back.

 

Because of this, Dean had to mature very quickly – which he did for his brothers’ sake, of course. It was a normal day like any other. That is, until he noticed Sammy wasn’t waking up on his normal time (8.30 am – just after Dad would leave). Due to childish ignorance, though he didn’t think much of it just yet. He just figured Sammy was tired since he woke up late from his rest last night. He gave his brother another hour before he would look to the babies’ direction every now and then.

 

Okay, Sammy never slept this late. It was 9.30 am by this point and Dean had turned on some morning cartoon. His brother seemed to like it when he was awake for it. Dean began to shift a little on the bed by his still sleeping brother. As he wracked his brain, he just couldn’t think of a reason Sammy would still be asleep. How weird.

 

Dean gave Sammy another half an hour before he reached over to touch the babies’ cheek to see if he was still okay. He gasped when he felt the hoot cheek. “Sammy…?” He questioned, as if the baby could explain what was going on. He received no answer aside from a small – barely audible – whimper.

 

His brother never whimpered that quietly. Something was wrong.

 

“Hold on, Sammy.” He spoke gently. “I’m gonna get Dad, okay?” Again, only a small whimper answered him.

 

Thankfully, it was a time where cell phones were just starting. His Dad always made sure to leave a note with his cell number in case of emergency in Dean’s bag. Dean hopped off the bed to search for the scrap of paper before he moved to the unoccupied bed – so as not to disturb his brother – and began to try his Dad’s phone from the hotel’s phone on the bed side.

 

Three rings later, a woman’s voice came on the line to say that the person he was trying to contact couldn’t answer right now. Dean frowned. The lady told him to leave a voice mail at the tone and he did. “Dad, it’s me. Something’s wrong with Sammy. Can you come back now?”

 

Dean would wait ten minutes before he would try again. Three rings later, the same voice answered and told him to leave a voice mail. Dean frowned again, and did as he was told. “Dad, it’s Dean again. Please come back. I don’t know what to do.” There was a hint of a scared little boy in his voice now. His age was catching up with his mood.

 

He repeated the same process a third time, ten minutes later once more. When the woman told him to leave a voice mail this time, he simply sighed and waited for the beep. “Dad…. I’m going to call Uncle Bobby.” Was all he said before he ended the call once more.

 

Dean didn’t wait this time.  Their Uncles’ number was on the same scrap of paper, thankfully. Dean punched in the numbers and waited.

 

One ring later, a gruff voice answered. “Singer Salvage Yard, this is Bobby.”

 

Dean felt his throat constrict, but he vegan to speak none-the-less. “Uncle Bobby? It’s Dean.”

 

Bobby could hear the distress in his voice apparently. “Dean? You sound scared, boy. What’s going on?” Dean could hear the shift of the older man getting off his desk chair.

 

“Something’s wrong with Sammy. He won’t wake up…” Dean tried to take a breath, but it sounded shaky. “He… he didn’t wake up after Dad left, so I thought he was still just tired, but when I touched his cheek, he was really hot and he’s whimpering quietly and… and…” There was a catch in his throat again. It felt tighter than before and he could feel the warm dampness in his eyes. “And… Dad won’t answer…. And I don’t know what to do…”

 

The distress kept building up until finally there were a few sobs reverberating within the room. Dean didn’t even notice it was him who was crying until he vaguely recognized Bobby trying to assure him.

 

“Did you hear me, boy?”

 

A sniff came out as Dean tried to take another deep breath. “N-no…” He answered in a scared tone.

 

“Everything will be okay, Dean. I’m gonna help you through this.” There was no ‘okay?’ at the end, because Bobby knew Dean needed the assurance – not Dean’s confirmation this time.

 

It took Dean another minute to calm down enough. “O-okay… I’m… I’m okay now. Sorry.” It was reflex. His Dad and brother needed him to be strong. He had to stay strong. Not turn into a whimpery little baby and cry over stuff when it got hard.

 

“Hey.” Dean’s back straightened at the tone his Uncle used. It was firm and demanded that he hear him. “There’s no need to be sorry. You’re still a kid, Dean.” Dean could sense his Uncle wanted to add more, but the older man cut himself off for the time being. “Now, first thing I’m gonna need you to do is check your brothers breathing. See if it’s normal or if it’s quick and un-even.”

 

Dean gave a small ‘okay’ and ‘hold on’, while he set the phone on the table so he could move to his brothers side and do like he was told. The five year old crawled up on the bed and picked up the phone again. “Do I just….?” Dean wasn’t sure what to do.

 

There was a pause. “Put the mouth piece next to him. Hold it there for a minute.” Dean did like he was told and counted the best he could. He only made it to 19 before he began to struggle. He kept it there for a few more seconds, before bringing the phone back.

 

“Was that long enough?”

 

“That was good, yeah.” There was the sound of rustling paper and scribbling of something writing on the paper. “Alright. Go check the bathroom or your bags for a white box with a red plus sign on it. It’s the first aid box. You’re gonna wanna find a long stick. It should look like yellow plastic with a button near the top. Go find it.”

 

Dean took another shaky breath, but he gave a ‘yes, sir’ and set the phone on the table again. He first checked their bags and frowned when he couldn’t find what uncle Bobby was talking about. He then checked the bathroom and found the box under the sink. He opened it and found a plastic stick, but it was white. It looked like what his uncle meant, so he just shrugged and took it out to bring with him.

 

He picked up the phone again. “I found something, but it’s white and not yellow. It looks like what you were saying though.”

 

Bobby gave a gruff noise, almost like he sounded annoyed it wasn’t exactly like he explained. Still, he seemed to accept it. “Alright. You see the metal tip?” Dean gave an ‘uh huh’. “Carefully put that metal tip under his arm pit. Make sure it touches his skin, so under the shirt. You’ll probably have to push his shirt up some.”

 

“Yes, sir.” Was echoed again. Dean shifted the phone so it was cradled on his shoulder so he could keep talking to his uncle. He pushed Sam’s shirt up and stuck the metal tip under Sam’s armpit. “Okay, it’s there. Now what?”

 

“Press the button and keep it there until it beeps. After that, read me the number.”

 

Dean gave another noise of affirmation. He pressed the button and made sure the stick stayed put. When it beeped like Bobby said it would, another whimper came from Sam. Dean bit his bottom lip and carefully removed the stick. “Sorry, Sammy… You’ll be ok soon…” He spoke gently before he shifted the stick so he could read it. “One… zero… and two.”

 

There was a hitch in Bobby’s voice as he heard Dean read the number. “Balls…!” He hissed on his end. “Alright… As much as I hate to say it, that’s not good. Your brothers’ got a high fever, Dean.” Bobby sighed and Dean let out a small whimper himself. “Hey… it’s okay. I promise. Nothin’ bad’s gonna happen to Sam.”

 

“Y-you promise…?” Dean asked hesitantly. He’d normally believe Bobby or Dad without question, but… He was worried over Sammy.

 

“Of course I promise…” Bobby’s tone was reassuring and Dean nodded slowly. “Now, what I need you to do is go to the bathroom and find a wash cloth. Wet it with cold water and ring it out. After you make sure it’s not too wet, take it and put it on Sam’s forehead.”

 

By now, Bobby was used to hearing the ‘yes, sir’ and the gentle thump of the phone being sat down. Dean went to turn on the cold water and grab a wash cloth. He did exactly as Bobby said to. He wet the wash cloth and rung it out until it was wet enough to cool down his brother. He brought it back after shutting the tap off. He set the wash cloth over the top of Sam’s head and picked up the phone again. “Done.”

 

“Good. I need you to do one more thing.” Dean made a confused noise. “I need to know what hotel you are at and where.”

 

Dean hesitated. “I… I can’t read yet very well… and I don’t know if I should leave Sammy alone enough to go outside.”

 

“Dean… he won’t be alone. I’ll be right here. This is very important to know. Go to the front desk and ask.”

 

Dean still hesitated a second, but he knew Uncle Bobby said it was important. With a sigh, and slumped shoulders, he nodded. “Okay. Please make sure he stays safe. I’m gonna move the phone up by Sammy’s head.” Just as promised, he did set the phone up by his brothers’ head. He kissed Sammy’s cheek quickly before he said in a low tone “I’ll be right back…”

 

He made sure to grab the extra key his Dad always left by the TV before he left the room. Much alike a scared little boy, he ventured out the door cautiously. There were a few adults in the drive way. Some were putting things in their car, and some were just sitting in their car and looking lost. Dean made sure to glance around for the Impala, but frowned sadly when he didn’t see it.

 

Right. He had a mission. He had to go to the office and ask where they were. He didn’t have too much trouble finding the office. He remembered where it was when he exited the car a few days before with Dad to check in.

 

The door was slightly heavy, but he managed to get in on his own. No one was at the desk, but he did find a chair by the desk and there was a bell. He pulled the chair slightly closer before he climbed up onto it to ring the bell.

 

A middle aged woman came from behind the door. “Ah, a little one. How can I help you, hon?”

 

Dean blinked at her Southern accent, but shook his head after a second. “My uncle needs to know where we are. My brother’s sick and my uncle’s helping me on the phone.” Dean explained.

 

The woman frowned, but nodded. “Okay. Can you read? I can write it down.” When Dean shook his head, the woman smiled gently. “Okay, sweetie. How about I come with you and tell your uncle for you then?” When Dean hesitated, she hummed. “I promise it will be quick.” Dean nodded after three seconds of thought. He couldn’t read, so it was best to get an adult for the answers. “Alright, sweetie. Let’s go talk to your uncle then.”

 

The nice woman – who introduced herself as Laura on the walk back – came to Dean and Sam’s room with him. When she saw the sick baby, she tensed. Was Sammy sicker than he thought? Was it that obvious? She didn’t comment on it, though Dean wanted to ask her. He walked over to climb up on the bed with his brother. He picked up the phone. “Uncle Bobby?”

 

“Right here, boy.” Dean felt himself relax a little when he heard his uncle still on the other line. “Did you find out where you are?”

 

“A lady from the office said she’d come talk to you. Is that okay? She’s in the room right now.”

 

Dean could hear his uncle tense, but he gave a gruff ‘fine’. Dean passed over the phone to Laura who talked to his uncle for a good ten minutes. Dean had to get another wet cloth for his brother – under Laura’s instructions this time. Once she was done talking to his uncle, she offered the phone to him with a smile.

 

“Here you go, hon.” Dean gave a small thank you. She didn’t leave right away like he thought she would.

 

“Dean? Laura’s gonna stay with you for a few minutes. Understand?” Dean looked to the carpet in confusion. “Sammy needs to go the hospital by the sounds of it. But I promise everything will be okay, and I’ll be there within a few hours or so.”

 

Dean bit his lip, but he slowly nodded. “Okay…” There was a hint of the scared five year old again. Bobby reassured him again that he was on his way, and soon said ‘see you soon’ to Dean. Like his uncle said, Laura stayed with him after he hung up.

 

She picked up the phone after he hung up though to call for emergency care. She asked where his parents were and all Dean said was ‘out’ in response. He didn’t specify where. He refused to. What if someone called Dad a bad dad and said they couldn’t stay with him anymore?

 

It was almost noon by the time the sirens were close enough and someone knocked on the door. Dean looked to Laura in confusion as she stood and went to answer. Two men in light blue clothes came in with a tall bed on wheels. Laura led them to Sammy and explained what was going on to the best of her knowledge. A third in blue – a woman – came over to Dean and asked him a few confusing questions of which he didn’t know how to answer. He tried to answer them the best he could though, with the exception of where his parents were. Again, he only responded with an ‘out’.

 

Soon, he and Sammy were on the tall bed on wheels and being pushed into the ambulance truck. Sammy was starting to wake up due to the noise and started to cry. Dean was held back by the woman in blue while one of the men helped his brother try to settle down. The third person was driving the truck.

 

Once they were at the hospital, Dean was thankfully kept on the same bed on wheels with his brother. They were wheeled to a large – to a five year old anyways – room of pure white and stale air. It made Dean shiver a little. He didn’t like the smell.

 

Thankfully, he wasn’t alone with his brother for long in this room. Nurses and doctors came in every ten minutes, and by 5 pm, Uncle Bobby had arrived. Uncle Bobby explained they weren’t **too** far from Sioux Falls. Dean knew this was a lie. Dad would have brought them to their uncles’ if they were that close. It was okay though. Aunt Karen came too an hour after Uncle Bobby showed up and she brought pie. Dean loved pie, so he was thankful Aunt Karen brought some. Uncle Bobby seemed to approve too, since he didn’t chastise them for having a homemade pie brought in. According to what Dean heard, that could be a bad thing due to hospital security or something like that.

 

Due to Uncle Bobby’s demanding the staff, another bed was brought in for him and Aunt Karen to share (They were in a one-bed room). Uncle Bobby and Aunt Karen stayed at the hospital with him and Sammy for a few days. Aunt Karen would spoil them at meals (she apparently **demanded** to use the hospital kitchen) with her cooking and a good few days later, he and Sammy were being loaded into Aunt Karen’s light yellow Fiat 500 Bambino (“Uncle Bobby’s truck is too dangerous for you two to be in for so long.” She explained when Dean asked why they weren’t riding with Uncle Bobby).

 

Aunt Karen let Dean sit up front as long as he promised to wear his safety belt. Of course he promised. They even listened to the Beetles on the way back. By the time Hey Jude was half way through the song, Dean was asleep.

 

It took them a little longer to get back to Sioux Falls, but they got there by the end of the day. Aunt Karen demanded he go straight to bed and she’d care for Sammy. He was too tired to argue.

 

They stayed with Uncle Bobby happily from then on. When he and Sam were old enough, Bobby took them deer hunting and even got custody of the boys. He went as far as to take John Winchester to court over them. These boys didn’t deserve a life on the road with a vengeful father.

**Author's Note:**

> Sea: …. A bit short (6 pages on Word document), but still cute.  
> Also, I 100 percent stand by how I ended this. Those boys really deserved a whole fuck ton better.  
> Anyways, this was a one shot only. There will be no continuation. I just thought this was a cute idea and had to write it.   
> Hm… All I can think of saying now is I guess tell me what you thought? If liked it, cool. If not, please tell me what I could have done better for future uses. Thanks, and see you lovelies in the next one!
> 
> Quick note: I actually looked up older cars and just picked the Fiat 500 Bambino at random from the cars I did find. I just figured it was cute and thought it could be cute with a pale yellowish paint job. If this car didn’t have seat belts, I do apologize for my mistake, but yeah…  
> I also figured Bobby would be the type to drive a pick-up. I also figured his pick-up wouldn’t have car seats whereas Karen’s would… So yeah… Thus deemed safer (by her) for itty bitty Winchesters’.


End file.
